Anastasia Tonello warns of US isolation following SCOTUS decision
Anastasia Tonello warns of US isolation following SCOTUS decision
27 June 2018
Managing Partner Anastasia Tonello has issued a statement following the US Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the third iteration of President Trump’s travel ban on a number of majority Muslim countries. Anastasia warns the travel ban could keep families apart, negatively impact US businesses and damage the country’s reputation as a beacon of hope and opportunity.
Read the Forbes article citing Anastasia here.
Anastasia Tonello weights in on Trump’s attack on immigrants’ due process
Anastasia Tonello weights in on Trump’s attack on immigrants’ due process
5 November 2018
Managing Partner and Head of US Practice Anastasia Tonello weighs in on the potentially disastrous consequences of the Trump administration’s proposal to end birthright citizenship in the US for illegal immigrants and non-immigrant aliens.
Anastasia reveals the particularly harsh consequences this order would have on over 300,000 highly skilled Indian guestworkers on H-1B visas. The backlog for green card applications from certain populous countries such as India means that children of these highly-skilled migrants may never be considered for legal permanent residency. This will create an “underclass” of immigrants of certain nationalities, essentially precluding them from being able to settle permanently in the US, even if they are born there and it is the only country they know.
Read the full Bloomberg Law article here.
Brexit: Further details on the new EU Settlement Scheme announced
Brexit: Further details on the new EU Settlement Scheme announced
22 June 2018
The Minister for Immigration, Caroline Nokes made a further announcement on the proposed EU Settlement Scheme. The new application system is expected to enter a testing stage this summer with a phased rollout to EU nationals and their family members from later this year. The scheme is expected to be ‘fully open’ from 30 March 2019.
The application process will involve three main steps:
- Proof of identity: it is envisaged that those applying online would be able to complete the ID verification stage via an app (without the need to send original documentation by post). Those who do not wish (or are unable) to use the app would be able to send their original ID document via post which will be verified and returned.
- Confirmation of ‘continuous residence’, or presence in the UK, as opposed to continuous exercise of Treaty rights, via automated checks with other government departments such as HMRC and in due course DWP. Where information cannot be verified automatically there will be an opportunity to upload relevant documentation such as bank statements, business accounts, etc.
- Declaration of criminal convictions – with only serious (or multiple) offences expected to affect the outcome of the application.
Fees
The application fee will be £65 for those aged 16 or over and £32.50 for children under 16. Children in care will not be required to pay the fee.
‘Settled status’ will be granted to those with 5 years continuous residence; would be granted ‘pre-settled’ status, provided they are resident in the UK before midnight on 31 December 2020. After five years of ‘continuous residence’, those with ‘pre-settled’ status may apply for settled status without a further fee.
EU nationals and their family members holding permanent residence documentation (or indefinite leave to remain in the UK) will be able to swap their document for settled status free of charge.
The new status document is expected to be issued in digital format and not as a physical document, which will inevitably mean changes to the right to work check requirements for employers (yet to be announced).
No immediate changes for EU nationals and their family members
Today’s announcement does not have any bearing on EU nationals’ and their family members right to reside in the UK on the basis of free movement rules until at least the end of the implementation period (31 December 2020). Those resident in the UK before the end of the implementation period will have until at least 30 June 2021 to apply for the new status.
Settled status scheme seminar at Laura Devine Law
Laura Devine Law (London) intends to host a client seminar on the proposed EU Settlement Scheme with further details to be announced in due course.
To register your interest to attend this event, please contact events@lauradevine.com.
For further information on the implications of Brexit for employers and EU nationals, and our Brexit services, contact your assigned lawyer or email EUenquiries@lauradevine.com.
Anastasia Tonello weights in on Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy
Anastasia Tonello weights in on Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy
21 June 2018
Managing Partner and Head of the US Practice Anastasia Tonello spoke with Beltway Breakfast about the sudden reversal of President Trump’s family separation policy and the fight over his “zero tolerance” policy.
Read the full article here.
Anastasia Tonello spoke with Radio New Zealand on Trump’s child migrant backdown
Anastasia Tonello spoke with Radio New Zealand on Trump’s child migrant backdown
21 June 2018
Managing Partner and Head of the US Practice Anastasia Tonello spoke with Radio New Zealand to discuss the family separation crisis and the latest executive order from President Trump.
Listen to the discussion here.
Nicolette Bostock unpacks the benefits of recent Tech visa changes
Nicolette Bostock unpacks the benefits of recent Tech visa changes
19 June 2018
Senior Solicitor on the UK Team Nicolette Bostock provides an overview of the Government’s expansion of Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visas endorsed by Tech City UK. The expansion of this category targets recognised leaders and rising stars in the tech sector.
Nicolette anticipates that this expansion, along with the Government’s increased investment into Tech City UK and the US ‘Buy American, Hire American’ policy restricting high skilled immigration access to Silicon Valley, will lead to an unprecedented level of applications for the much sought after Exceptional Talent visas endorsed by Tech City UK.
Read the full article here.
Positive changes to the Immigration Rules: July 2018
Positive changes to the Immigration Rules: July 2018
18 June 2018
The Government has published changes to the Immigration Rules, most of which come into effect on 6 July 2018. The most pertinent changes for employers and workers include:
Tier 2
One of the most welcome changes is the much-anticipated removal of doctors and nurses from the annual Tier 2 (General) Restricted Certificate of Sponsorship (RCoS) cap of 20,700. In the last 6 months, demand for RCoS has significantly out-stripped supply, effectively increasing the Tier 2 minimum salary threshold to £50,000-£60,000 (from £30,000). By the Government’s estimation removing medics from the cap should free up an additional 8,000 RCoS per year for workers in other occupations. This will certainly relieve some of the pressure on the RCoS system and should in turn have a cooling effect on the minimum salary required to secure a RCoS. However, it remains likely that the monthly cap may still be exceeded over the summer months, not least due to re-applications from those refused in the last 6 months. We may also expect to see pressure increasing again from October when the allocation of monthly RCoS drops – particularly if net migration from the EU to fall. So, whilst we very much welcome the Home Secretary’s announcement, we consider that bolder reforms for Tier 2 will be needed in future.
Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (ILR) – calculation of absences
Much needed transitional arrangements will be implemented to prevent the adverse January 2018 changes relating to the calculation of absences towards the 180-day limit for ILR, from applying retrospectively. For periods of leave granted under the pre 11 January 2018 Rules, absences will be calculated in line with the old Rules (ie on the basis of consecutive 12-month periods); any periods of leave granted under the Rules from 11 January 2018 will be calculated on the new ‘rolling’ 12 month basis. This is a welcome development, although calculations may be complex for those whose qualifying period for ILR includes periods of leave under both pre and post 11 January 2018 Rules.
Croatian Nationals
From 1 July, Croatian nationals will no longer be required to obtain authorisation to work in the UK and will fully benefit from free movement rights.
Turkish workers and businesspersons
New provisions within the Immigration Rules have been put in place for Turkish workers and businesspersons with leave under the European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA), also known as the Ankara Agreement, to apply for ILR after five years. Turkish workers were previously ineligible for ILR and could only qualify once they reached ten years lawful residence.
Other changes
Further welcome announcements include widening the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) route to include fashion industry designer leaders.
The announcements also include a range of minor technical changes to other categories.
Get in touch
If you have any queries in relation to any of the changes, please contact your usual Laura Devine Law lawyer or enquiries@lauradevine.com.
Anastasia Tonello speaks to Bloomberg Law on the impacts of ‘buy American, hire American’
Anastasia Tonello speaks to Bloomberg Law on the impacts of ‘buy American, hire American’
15 June 2018
Managing Partner and Head of the US Practice Anastasia Tonello spoke with Bloomberg Law on the immigration ramifications of the Trump administration’s ‘buy American, hire American’ Executive Order. Since the issuance of the Executive Order Anastasia has noticed a 45% increase in ‘requests for evidence’ with H-1B cases and a notable drop in the approval rate for both H-1B visas and EB-1 green card applications for immigrants with extraordinary ability.
Employers are also experiencing substantial delays as the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service has been instructed to use the same level of scrutiny with extension applications as with first-time applications. Anastasia points out that this removal of any deference to prior agency decision-making is further fuelling the surge in requests for evidence and refusals.
Read the full article here.
Sophie Barrett-Brown speaks to People Management on upcoming changes to the Tier 2 cap
Sophie Barrett-Brown speaks to People Management on upcoming changes to the Tier 2 cap
14 June 2018
Senior Partner and Head of the UK Practice Sophie Barrett-Brown speaks to People Management regarding the proposed plans for addressing the Tier 2 visa restrictions on doctors with NHS job offers.
Sophie explains the impact of the Tier 2 cap being met every month, along with the ramifications of the proposed changes to allow more doctors to receive Tier 2 (General) visas and plug the gaps in NHS trusts around the country. She also outlines the potential effects to the business sector if Home Secretary Sajid Javid were to remove doctors from the cap altogether.
Read the full article here.
Immigration PSL networking event – 25 June 2018
Immigration PSL networking event – 25 June 2018
13 June 2018
Laura Devine Solicitors (LDS), ILPA and Lexis®PSL are delighted to invite all immigration professional support lawyers (PSLs) interested in setting up an Immigration PSL networking group to a social event to be hosted by Laura Devine Law’s London office at 6pm on Monday, 25 June 2018. You can find full address details here.
The event will be an opportunity to meet other immigration PSLs and share your experience and challenges as well as exchange ideas about how we can collaborate in the future.
If you are interested to attend, please RSVP by Wednesday, 20 June at: miglena.ilieva@lauradevine.com
If you can’t attend because of date or London location but would like to be involved please get in touch info@ilpa.org.uk